Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) issued the following statement following House passage of H.R. 1, Republicans’ sweeping tax reconciliation bill, which includes the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in American history.
“Under the cover of night, House Republicans jammed their egregious tax scam through Congress. Instead of providing leadership when it mattered most, Speaker Johnson and House Republicans shamefully bowed down to Donald Trump, shirking their responsibility to the people they were elected to represent and selling out hard-working Americans to benefit billionaires.
“The Republican budget will make America hungrier, poorer, and sicker. For more than 29 hours, House Democrats stood united to expose this bill for what it is: a tax scam that redistributes wealth to the ultra-rich while imposing the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in American history. It kicks an estimated 14 million Americans off their health care and slashes critical food assistance programs relied on by more than 42 million people, literally taking health care from the sick and food away from the hungry. All while adding trillions to the national debt to line the pockets of the wealthiest Americans, leaving future generations to bear the financial burden of their greed and irresponsibility.
“In their relentless attacks on basic health care, Republicans are also pushing to defund Planned Parenthood, which would close nearly 200 health centers, cut off care for more than a million people, and restrict access to life-saving services including reproductive and sexual health care, birth control, maternity care, cancer screenings, behavioral health, and abortion care.
“From day one, Republicans refused to meaningfully engage with Democrats or the American people. They shut us out of the process, schemed its passage behind closed doors, and held votes and committee meetings in the dead of night to hide the harm this bill would inflict on millions of Americans. Now, their tax scheme is one step closer to upending the lives of working families, piling new burdens onto Americans already struggling in an unstable economy made worse by Trump’s reckless tax and trade policies. Republicans have shown no interest in lowering costs or making the American Dream more attainable. Their only interest lies in a blind loyalty to Trump and a callous indifference to the people they were elected to serve.
“But let me be clear: this is not the end. Every single House Democrat voted no on this cruel and despicable bill, and we will continue to fight it every step of the way. We are united in our opposition, and as this bill moves through the legislative process, we will use every tool at our disposal to stop it in its tracks. The American people deserve better, and we are not backing down.”
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Issues: 119th Congress, Budget